


Trusting Your Love

by DarthSuki



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gender-neutral Reader, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spoilers, Volume 6 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 01:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16609151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthSuki/pseuds/DarthSuki
Summary: From the anonymous request: Headmaster Ozpin’s s/o (after him confiding the truth about salem) questioning him if he really loves them or if they are just a stand in/substitute for Salem





	Trusting Your Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a request on my RWBY writing blog. If you would like to submit a request or check out my other related work, [go check it out here!](https://rwbywritings.tumblr.com/)

By the time that Ozpin finished speaking, the air felt so cold. The chill was more than you could handle, the hot cup of tea long-turned-cool between your hands. You had been staring into the surface of the drink for the last several minutes, simply absorbing what the man was telling you. It seemed fantastical, completely impossible; it was literally on-par with a fairy-tale that he was trying to tell you as truth.

The scariest thing though?

You believed him.

He didn’t have a reason to lie to you; having been together for several years, you didn’t know the man to lie about something so serious. It had made sense in the end, all the times he had withheld details about himself or refused to clarify something--it made sense how he would have wanted to hide all of this information away so nobody would ever know of the mistakes he’s made.

His power, his immortality, his connection to Salem...

It answered a lot of questions that you had been mulling over internally for the last several months. A the same time, however, it only furthered a worry that had burrowed deep in your chest. It made you feel scared to ask a question that had been hanging on your lips for too long.

You took in a slow breath, then let it out in a sigh.

“Do you...” It was like trying to force a boulder out of your way. “Do...you....still love Salem?”

It hung in the air like an iron weight; considering the way Ozpin’s eyes widened, he must have been shocked to hear it from you. Surprise or not, it didn’t dull the look of worry and fear that knitted your brows together.

You wait for an answer, but it doesn’t come quick enough; you take a moment to reorganize your thoughts and clarify them.

“You...loved her very deeply. It’s obvious the two of you meant a lot to one another and....” You swallow down the stone in your throat, watching the man’s expression shift, from fearful confusion into something...unreadable. “Do I compare to that? Do you...love me? I mean, do you still love Salem?”

It’s a heavy question, one that you almost felt guilty for asking. It was obvious that it had been hard for him to even tell you all of this, it must have been something weighing hard on his shoulders for a long time; how does someone even deal with these sorts of emotions? How do they heal from such pain?

How do you love someone again?

Ozpin looks at you in silence, his eyes unable to meet yours for a few seconds. He seems wanting to say something, words at the tip of his tongue, but holds them back.

Why does he hold them back?

_What doesn’t Ozpin want to say?_

You take in a breath, let it sit in your chest to simmer as you set down the cup and stand up, all the while watching the man with careful eyes. 

“Just tell me,” you say. “Ozpin. Just tell me--I just want your answer, you need to be honest with me. For both of us.”

Your heart is already cold and a rock lays in your stomach, fearful for the answer he’s holding. Fearful that you already know what he’s going to say; regardless you stand firm, ready for anything, ready to work through the motions that would come through from his answer--

“I love you.”

He finally glances back up at you, green eyes glazed over with what you can only assume are tears; not enough to start rolling down his cheeks, but enough to notice.

You’d never seen him like this before.

He looks away from you for a moment, almost collecting himself, and then turns back to step closer to you. He approaches you and gently grabs your hands and pulls them between his own, all the while with this expression on his face that you can’t quite read.

“I...I love you. So much, I-” Ozpin sounds like he’s fighting something to speak, cutting off his words. “You...don’t know how hard it is.”

“What?” You ask, worry boiling within you. “How hard what is? I can’t read your mind, Ozpin.”

Oh, you wish that you could.

The man shuts his eyes, tight, trying to reign in all of the pain and--and the  _guilt_ , you realize--that’s painted over his face.

“I’ve lived....so many lifetimes. I’ve been so many people and so many things, all while knowing I will continue to exist while others die around me.”

He speaks words you understand, but Ozpin still sounds like a riddle, toying with your mind to try and unpack what his deeper meaning is. It’s annoying to some extend, but not anything you can’t understand when taking the situation into consideration, what must be going through his mind as much as your own.

Eventually, you pull one of your hands out from his and raise it to his face. Your palm presses against his cheek.

“Ozpin,” The name is so soft on your lips. “...Do you love me right now?”

“Yes,” he says, no hesitation in his voice.

“I am not a substitute for your love for Salem?”

“No.” And the look returns, guilt and fear that paints his features over. “I don’t--she’s changed, so much time has gone by and I...I can’t...love her like that again.”

It was hard to see so much pain in Ozpin’s eyes, a genuine sorrow that you could feel echoing in your chest.

Your partner looked ready to continue his thoughts after a breath, but you pressed your thumb against his lips, effectively silencing his fearful babble; you already got your answer, he didn’t need to explain himself further for the trauma he’s endured.

“I believe you,” your words are little more than a whisper. “You don’t have to convince me of that. I just...needed to hear you say it to me.”

His lips slowly pull into a smile, eventually kissing your thumb.

“Thank you,” he finally whispers, his eyes closing and face nuzzling into your touch. “I’m so grateful to have found you in even one of my lives.”


End file.
